Humans might end up on endangered list themselves

There’s a list for just about anything under the sun.

There are lists that spark envy, such as the best-dressed people in Hollywood, the richest men and women in the world, and the most luxurious hotel suites — which most regular people could never afford, even without the sliding scale of resort fees.

There are the not-so-sought-after lists, like Hawaii’s unvarying placement on the annual catalog of bad states for business because of high taxes, low employee pools, regulations, unresponsive bureaucracies — you’ve heard the reasons.

In a tourism economy, getting on lists that rank the planet’s best beaches, romantic locations and exquisite hidden spots are desirable and the industry has no qualms about exploiting them

One that doesn’t get a lot of hawking in that realm is Hawaii’s big and growing list of plants and animals unique to the islands that are disappearing. 

The unique part is cool. 

A brilliantly gold honeycreeper flying and nesting among rain forests nowhere else on Earth has a certain chic.

That the bird depends on humans to stay alive is the part that’s scary, scary because humans can barely take care of themselves.

To thrive, creatures and plants need stable environments. The recent addition of 15 island species to the federal endangered list supposedly assures that their living spaces will be protected. But when an animal that once ranged through miles and miles of habitat is corralled into 12 acres here, seven acres there and a few patches in between, its survival in numbers is also confined.

Nevertheless, if we treasure uniqueness and diversity, we ought to try to save them. 

Some don’t think so. They point to the notion that if an organism can’t deal with environmental change, it is not worthy of life.

That idea holds a message for humans. As much as we believe we can manipulate and engineer our habitats, there must also be recognition that some matters are beyond our control.

Waves and unusual tidal movements have badly eroded beaches across the islands, most notably — for Hawaii’s economic health — the shorelines of Waikiki. Trucking in loads of sand, or dredging material from off shore to fill in the pukas only delays the inevitable.

An aerial view of Waikiki provides enough evidence of the mistake in setting hotels and other buildings right next to the ocean. Maybe at the time they were put up, the consequences weren’t clear.

They are now, and to ignore what climate changes and warming will bring makes no sense economically.  

The governor was recently appointed to a group of officials to work on adapting to the effects of climate change. Hawaii’s perspective for a national plan would be useful.

These islands will be significantly afflicted by rising seas, warmer temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns, among a host of problems.

By ourselves, we are pretty much reliant on what mitigation takes place in the world outside.

But there are things we can do, like pushing back development from shorelines, building roads on higher ground, reducing use of fossil fuels and making strategic decisions on water resources.

We have to try to avoid ending up on a list of those at risk.